Part 4
Gu Lin looked at the letters, recalling the conversation he had with Lin Zheng that night, and couldn’t help but laugh.
After laughing, he froze.
Did I just… laugh?
Before he could think further, his thoughts were interrupted by a subordinate reporting the situation.
Gu Lin received a letter every three days. He didn’t know how long this continued, but slowly, it became an accustomed routine.
The bellflowers bloomed again.
One day, passing the garden, Gu Lin remembered Lin Zheng’s letter from a few days ago. In the letter, Lin Zheng said he missed him a little and perhaps could come back to see him in some time.
Gu Lin didn’t understand what longing tasted like, but thinking he had no official duties for the next two days, the thought of going to Yizhou arose.
Once decided, he moved. As with the last time, it was a private visit.
Arriving at the familiar place, Gu Lin remembered the house he used to live in and went there. It wasn’t as desolate as when he left; it seemed someone had lived there after him. The bellflowers in the courtyard were well-tended.
Just as a flower farmer came in, Gu Lin asked if anyone had been there. The farmer was stunned, then sighed. “Someone did live here, but they aren’t living here anymore.”
Gu Lin didn’t need to think to know that the person who came to live here could only be Lin Zheng.
He didn’t ask who lived there, only asking, “Why aren’t they living here anymore?”
The flower farmer standing behind raised a hand to wipe her eyes. “That young master…”
The person in front pulled her sleeve, signaling her not to speak recklessly.
Gu Lin sensed something was wrong.
Leaving the house and arriving at the Lin Manor, before he even entered, he saw the situation inside clearly.
All the servants were wearing mourning clothes. Further inside was the aged Lin Kun. All the Lin family members were there, except for Lin Zheng.
Seeing him, Lin Kun didn’t forget etiquette and hurried out.
Gu Lin looked at the coffin inside and asked, “Who is inside?”
When Lin Kun spoke again, only exhaustion remained. “It is my unfilial son.” He choked up after speaking.
Gu Lin followed Lin Kun inside and asked for a stick of incense.
Seeing him, Xiao Xingzi couldn’t help but wail loudly.
Gu Lin bowed with the incense, but couldn’t insert it into the burner no matter how he tried.
He asked, “How many days?”
Lin Zheng’s eldest brother replied with a weary expression, “The second day.” He added, “Like our mother, he passed away from illness.”
Gu Lin walked to the wooden coffin, ignoring everyone’s shock, and opened the lid with his bare hands.
The person inside had thin cheeks, lying quietly as if asleep.
But there was a world of difference from sleeping. The difference was that this person would never open his eyes again.
Just like the person sleeping inside, Gu Lin’s emotions remained steady, without a ripple.
“Gen… General?”
Gu Lin pressed his hand to his face, but couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down.
The tears ran down his sharp jawline, falling onto the pale, bloodless cheek of the person in the coffin.
Gu Lin clenched his fist against the side of the coffin. “Ha, ha… Didn’t you say you could come back to see me soon? Why are you lying here now?”
Gu Lin couldn’t feel any emotions, only a twisting pain in his heart.
“So those letters were all lies?”
Something inside his heart felt like it was trying to claw its way out.
“You’ve become bad, Lin Zheng.”
Severe pain erupted densely from within his body.
Gu Lin smashed the coffin with his fist, cracking it.
Lin Kun, respecting Gu Lin as a general and an old friend of his son, had invited him in to pay respects. But seeing Gu Lin disrespectfully opening the coffin lid and then smashing the coffin, he became furious. “General Gu, what are you doing? Even if you are a general, I, Lin, will absolutely not allow you to disrespect my son!”
Gu Lin ignored him. With red-rimmed eyes, he lifted the person out of the coffin.
Lin Kun was so angry he nearly fell ill. He immediately ordered people to block Gu Lin’s path.
Gu Lin’s voice was chillingly cold. “Move. I don’t want to cause trouble. I just want to take my person away.”
Lin Zheng’s eldest brother stepped forward, sternly saying, “His surname is Lin! He is a member of our Lin family!”
Gu Lin seemed to be muttering to himself, his eyes stained with sorrow. “But he promised his whole life to me.”
Xiao Xingzi shouted, “General!”
Gu Lin looked lovingly at the person in his arms who seemed only to be asleep. Raising his eyes again, his gaze turned ruthless. “If you want to stop me, try it.”
A few days later.
“Did you hear? The day before yesterday, the Great General of the North went to the Lin family to snatch a person.”
“Snatching a person is nothing. I heard the Great General got married today, and the one he married is the young master he snatched from the Lin family.”
“Isn’t that person dead? And they’re both men; how can they get married?”
“Who knows? It’s truly against the laws of nature.”
In the General’s Manor, Gu Lin sat on the bed. The bright moonlight shone in through the window, falling onto the pile of letters in his hand.
[Today is the 18th, a very good day. I asked Xiao Xingzi to fetch two bottles of good wine from the wine shop next door. I wanted to bring them back for you to taste, but the wine was so good I couldn’t help drinking too much. I didn’t leave a drop, and Xiao Xingzi blamed me for drinking too much. Sigh. I miss you very much today, my General.]
Gu Lin raised his cup and drank the wine. He didn’t taste how good it was, only endless bitterness. He put down the cup, went to the bed, and looked at the person who was just sleeping. “The 18th. Today is the 18th, and it is also the day I marry you.”
Gu Lin lay down, pulling Lin Zheng into his arms as he had done countless times before, gently patting his back. “Sleep well, my wife.”
Closing his eyes, that mischievous person seemed to appear before him again.
Waiting with osmanthus cakes in front of his house until falling asleep; the unconcealed joy on his face when strolling the streets together; the unhesitating trust when placing his hand in his; the happy look when embraced by him; the way he frequently looked back and smiled with a fan every time he went out.
Time froze on that smiling face.
Hot tears fell onto the sleeping person’s cheek.
“In the next life, no matter the form, no matter the cost, let us meet again, my wife.”
If I see you, let me fall in love with you at first sight.
[On the road, the criminal was handcuffed by the police. Ignoring the cut on his neck, Gu Lin straightened his clothes and looked up. In the crowd, he noticed that face filled with surprise.]
Let me recognize you the moment I see you.
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